Fascism
I his review of Andrew McGahan's book Underground in GLW #710, Simon Butler posits the view that Australian fascism is not yet "just around the corner". I beg to differ — fascism is here, alive and well, and in a suburb near you.
One only needs to take a brief look at Australia's viciously repressive industrial and anti-terrorist laws, enforced by a militarised police force dressed intimidatingly in all-black uniforms, armed with stun guns, pepper sprays, water cannon, savage teutonic dogs and Christ knows what other horrors.
A police force that we are constantly told is shorthanded and overworked but when asked to attend to traditional duties, does not appear to have that constraint when at demonstrations or a waterfront dispute they turn out in their thousands, often outnumbering the demonstrators!
In order to create division and fear in the community, we have psychological warfare waged against the population in the form of scare campaigns, fear campaigns etc. with the state spewing out propaganda and urging citizens to inform on one another.
We find the roots of modern fascism in Franco's Spain, Salazar's Portugal and Nazi Germany and above all in the corporate state that emerged in Mussolini's Italy in the 1920s. In brief, the corporate state is an efficient system in which those at the top, under the aegis of corporate managerialism, deal with each other only and individual voices of those below are effectively silenced. Controlled by an overarching centralised bureaucracy, a smokescreen behind which ruthless economic control is exercised, and all workers' rights are eroded until non-existent.
We can thank Hawke and Keating for laying the ground work of corporatism, for the present government to build on. All these people are merely the political representatives of those behind the screen who hold real power.
Capitalism is inherently fascist, it is only kept in check by regulation. When we have a deregulated scenario, the box opens and out comes fascism. In short, whereas totalitarianism may not be "just around the corner" at this point, fascism assuredly is here.
John Wood
Ilika, NSW
Sinn Féin
While most of Emma Clancy's article in GLW #711 about the recent general election in Ireland was accurate, her coverage of Sinn Féin's performance left a lot to be desired. Far from offering a left alternative, Sinn Féin's leadership dumped the parts entire, mildly reformist, taxation policy during the election, including previous commitments to increase tax on the wealthy and on multinational profits.
This lurch to the right was underlined by the constant mantra of Sinn Féin representatives that they were "ready for government", meaning that they wished to join a coalition government with Fianna Fáil, the governing right-wing party.
Sinn Féin's leadership has pushed the party so rapidly to right that its position is now virtually indistinguishable from those of the other centre-left coalitionist parties: Labour and the Greens.
Sinn Féin's overall vote did increase slightly — by 0.43% to 6.94% — but the party suffered significant losses in working class areas of Dublin where it was expected to make a breakthrough but actually lost one of its parliamentary seats.
It is also true, as Clancy noted, that the far left did badly in the election, with its two MPs — Joe Higgins (Socialist Party) and Seamas Healy (left independent) — losing their seats, and that most socialist candidates lost support to the right.
One hopes that in future, Clancy's coverage will cast a more critical eye on Sinn Féin's development.
Colm Breathnach
Dublin, Ireland
Venezuela's democracy
To go by the corporate media, a bunch of brave students in Venezuela have stood up to speak out against "censorship" of "dissenting voices". This was proven to be a ridiculous joke when those same students, having demanded the right to address the country's parliament, responded by walking out of the debate organised by it on June 7.
Such a tyranny is the Chavez government that it granted the opposition students a debate — televised live — in front of a full sitting of parliament, with 10 students able to speak from those supporting the opposition and 10 from those backing the revolution. And such is the commitment to national dialogue of the students who took to the streets to protest the government's decision not to renew the license of a coup-plotting TV station, that they stormed out of the debate after one speaker.
When has the Australian government invited those dedicated to its overthrow to participate in a nationally televised debate in parliament to present their views? As a member of the revolutionary socialist youth organisation Resistance, I can state categorically that, given the chance, we would not throw a tantrum and walk-out.
We will demand the right to appear on the floor of the House of Representataives the next time the government decides, as Treasurer Costello did earlier this year, to join their counterparts in the US (who have never given the anti-war movement, backed by a majority of the US people, the right to address Congress) in slandering Chavez government for some alleged violation of "democracy". It will probably happen the next time a foreign-owned company gets nationalised in Venezuela and has its assets put at the service of the people, rather than private profit.
Stuart Munckton
Summer Hill, NSW [Abridged]
AWAs
Kevin Rudd is to be congratulated for raising the issue of the benefits or otherwise of AWAs. Anecdotally, at least, working conditions have been compromised for the sake of increased wages. Although higher wages seem attractive in the short term, there are health and social costs to long hours with no time off.
At one mining rig with 300 employees, there have been 10 deaths over the last two years. Although not direct work accidents, there have been two suicides, two men have died of brain tumours and other deaths have resulted from premature heart attacks in men over 55 who, although they think they can take the long hours and hard conditions, clearly cannot. The rig boasts a divorce rate of 85% — another huge social cost.
Then there is the loss to WA of royalties and income tax which go straight to Canberra. In Charles Court's day, the state government insisted that the miners built the towns of Tom Price, Pannawonica and Mt Newman while the government provided the teachers, police and health workers. Today, most miners are fly in fly out, hence housing prices in Perth have boomed making affordability the worst in 23 years. This boom has resulted in power and water shortages the new infrastructure of which has to be paid for by all West Australians rather than the federal government.
How much better would it be to have lower wages in return for housing in Karratha where rents are now $2000 a week, and a new town in the Kimberley beside Lake Argyle where there is water a plenty and sustainable hydro power.
Yes, the miners have a larger pay packet but what is the use if housing and health are costing us all the earth they mine?
Colin Hughes
Swan View, WA
Campaigning vs lobbying
Luke Fomiatti (Write On #712) attempts to divert attention from the real issues by focusing on supposed inaccuracies in my article about the sacking of University of Western Sydney queer officer Shelly Dahl (GLW #710).
While it is true that I made an error reporting one date, the substantial point — that key UWS Student Association (UWSSA) leaders refused to fully support the campaign against course cuts — is uncontested in Fomiatti's letter.
In fact Fomiatti acknowledges as much when he (inaccurately) claims that only two students were involved in the campaign. There is a published photo showing that at least six students attended the April 4 protest — small numbers to be sure. Then again my point all along was that this campaign would have been much stronger if UWSSA leaders like Fomiatti had fully come behind it.
I stand behind my claim that there have been around 20 resignations from representative positions in UWSSA. This is easy to verify since UWSSA has advertised vacancies for at least 28 positions — positions that were mostly filled at the beginning of the year. Dahl, who has copies of the resignation letters, maintains that in most cases dissatisfaction with the direction taken by UWSSA was a factor in the resignations.
Similarly, I maintain that the (contested, not unanimous) vote to remove Dahl from the queer officer position was controversial.
Fomiatti has to resort to point-scoring because it is awkward for him to openly defend his policy of lobbying (begging) the university administration for crumbs instead of mobilising students to fight.
Rachel Evans
Sydney, NSW